


Just Heard

by MariaClaire



Series: Senior Year Stories [12]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Post-The Tyrant's Tomb (Trials of Apollo), Ship of the Dead mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24996478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaClaire/pseuds/MariaClaire
Summary: When they arrive in California, Annabeth and Percy receive some bad news.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: Senior Year Stories [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746076
Comments: 11
Kudos: 106





	Just Heard

**Author's Note:**

> ***This is set when Annabeth and Percy arrive in California and get some bad news. Minor spoilers for Tyrant's Tomb and part of the conversation is taken from the third Magnus Chase book, Ship of the Dead.***

Annabeth hung up the phone, then leaned her head against the wall in the darkened hallway, closing her eyes. Piper sounded okay. Not great, but okay. Like Frank and Hazel when they'd explained what happened. To Jason. To Camp Jupiter. To New Rome. Of course, they'd all had a couple of months to be angry, to grieve, to adjust. Annabeth had only been hit with the news a few hours ago. She was still reeling.

Her dad's house was quiet. Bobby and Matthew were spending the night at a friend's, while her dad and stepmom were out at some show or event. She couldn't remember exactly what right now. Her brain was currently short-circuiting as it tried to process everything she'd learned. After everything she'd been through, everything she'd seen, how could it still feel like too much? But it was. Especially when her eyes fell on the sketchbooks sitting on a nearby table. Jason's designs for the temples at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth quickly looked away.

She almost couldn't believe it when Frank had explained what happened. Anger had quickly surged up behind the disbelief, mostly at the emperor, a little bit at Apollo, and a little bit at their friends for not telling them right away. While she'd demanded details, and Frank and Hazel shared as much as they knew, Percy had simply stood still, looking like he'd been punched between the eyes. Finally, he'd said, very quietly, "What happened to Caligula?"

"I put my hand around his throat, then lit him on fire," Frank said matter-of-factly. His voice caught a little, though, when he added, "And I told him 'This is for Jason.'"

Percy nodded, then gave Frank a big hug. While the boys were having their moment, Annabeth asked Hazel if she'd talked to Piper. Hazel nodded. "She's doing okay. Said she misses everyone, though. You should call her."

"I will. And we should plan a trip to visit her. Soon."

"Definitely," Hazel agreed.

And they would. As soon as Annabeth felt capable of making a plan again. For now, though, supporting herself against the wall, she simply closed her eyes, letting everything wash over her and trying to just breathe.

From the living room, there was a sniff. It was so quiet, Annabeth wouldn't have heard it if the house weren't silent. Slipping her phone into her pocket, she opened her eyes, took a deep breath, then stepped into the living room doorway.

Percy was slumped over on the couch, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. A vise gripped Annabeth's heart. They'd been through two wars, numerous quests, and countless losses. But she couldn't remember ever seeing him look this defeated. That, as much as anything else, nearly broke her.

He raised his head when she walked in. His eyes were red. "How's Piper?"

"Okay." Annabeth crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway. "As soon as I can get away, I'm going to visit her. Hazel said she'll go, too. Piper and Jason had broken up, by the way."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Not that it matters. I mean, she was still devastated. I can't imagine having to watch—I mean, I can, and it's awful…" Her voice trailed off and she took a deep breath. "She shouldn't have had to see that. But she sounds like she's doing okay. It's been almost three months. She's had time to grieve. It's not fresh." Not for any of the others. She and Percy were the only ones who felt gut-punched. Annabeth didn't want to say the other thing she was thinking, that Jason and Piper breaking up was just one more thing no one had bothered to share. Part of her knew that her anger was irrational, that communications had been a mess, that their friends had all been shocked and grieving, too. Still, it felt like a slap in the face to be so left out. And anger was way easier to deal with than everything else she was feeling.

Percy dropped his head into his hands again and Annabeth's focus shifted. He'd barely spoken since they'd seen the devastation in Camp Jupiter and New Rome. Most of the buildings had been repaired or rebuilt, but the damage from the battles with the emperors was clear in the empty streets and barracks. The camp and city had been bustling. Now, they were drained. Frank had shared that they were recruiting and the numbers were creeping up, but it would take time.

The worst had been when they'd crossed the Pomerian Line and the god Terminus popped into existence. For once, though, he wasn't the problem. A little girl with messy pigtails had hurtled out of nowhere and thrown her arms around Percy. He'd still looked shell-shocked from their walk through the camp and everything Hazel and Frank had told them, but he knelt down to hug her properly. "Hey, Julia."

"Both her parents died in the battle," Hazel murmured to Annabeth, whose heart broke for the little girl.

Especially when Julia stepped back and, lip trembling, asked Percy, "Where were you?"

"I didn't know exactly what was happening until it was too late. I'm sorry, Julia. I wish I could have been here to help." Percy's face and voice stayed calm, but Annabeth saw in his eyes just how much the question hurt him, even as he gave the little girl another hug, letting her cling to him until Terminus cleared his throat and suggested that they all get to wherever they were going.

Now, Annabeth sat down on the edge of the couch next to her boyfriend and laid a hand on his back. "How are you doing, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy swallowed several times before he finally admitted, "Not good."

Annabeth didn't say anything. She just started running her fingertips over his back, lightly tracing random patterns.

He sniffed again. "Jason…that's bad enough. But the legion…gods. And all the adult demigods. Like Julia's parents." He heaved a shuddering breath. "I mean, Hazel told me, when I first arrived, that the adults acted as reserve troops. But I never really thought…it just seems like, if you manage to grow up, you should be safe. That's probably dumb. Maybe there is no safe."

She pressed a kiss against his cotton-covered shoulder, then stayed there, leaning on him. "I don't know. Maybe not. I mean, even for regular mortals there's car accidents, random shootings, diseases. Bad stuff happens." She winced. Probably not helpful. "Just…maybe it's not possible to always be safe, but you just have to…I don't know…do your best and live your life anyway?"

"No offense, Wise Girl," Percy said, his voice a little muffled because his head was still in his hands, "but that wasn't your best pep talk."

"I realize that." Annabeth huffed in frustration. "I think I'm trying to say…ugh, I don't know what I'm trying to say. Actually, this just all really sucks and I don't have an answer that's going to make it okay."

Her eyes burned and she buried her face against Percy's shoulder again, clutching his arm as the tears spilled over. He reached up to grasp her hand, holding on almost too tightly. Losing Jason was painful enough. That would have been enough horrible news on its own. But hearing about the near obliteration of the Twelfth Legion and the loss of so many adult demigods on top of that was overwhelming. Where were they even supposed to begin?

And Annabeth knew that part of the grief was selfish, too. Both of them, but Percy especially, had been picturing New Rome as this safe haven, a place where demigods could live in peace, go to college, get married, raise a family, all without the threat of monsters constantly hanging over them. The reality of the adults acting as reserve forces hadn't really hit home. Until now. It shattered the illusion of permanent safety. And that hurt, too.

Her phone started ringing and Annabeth sat up, wiping her eyes.

"Who is it?" Percy asked dully.

Annabeth checked the screen as she pulled it back out of her pocket. "Magnus. Oh, he probably wants to know about the papers—Hey, Magnus. Everything okay?"

It was. Her cousin was doing well, thankfully. And it felt really good just to talk to him. Plus, she loved his ideas about turning their family mansion into a home for kids who needed it. That felt right. She'd been happy to sign all the legal papers to make it happen.

"So you're good with everything?" he asked.

"I think this is awesome, Magnus. You are amazing." In the midst of everything, this was a definite bright spot. She debated whether to say anything else, but couldn't help adding, "I—I kind of needed some good news right now."

"You okay, cuz?"

 _No. Not at all._ But she didn't really want to burden Magnus with this, especially when he'd only just made it through his own ordeals. So she said simply what felt like it might be true, "I will be. We…we got some bad news when we got out here."

Magnus paused, like he was waiting for her to add more, but when she didn't, he asked, "Percy okay?"

Somewhere during the conversation, Annabeth had stood up and started walking back and forth across the living room, just because that was easier than sitting still. But now she stopped in front of her boyfriend. He looked up at her, then reached out to take her hand, squeezing her fingers. "Yeah, he's fine. Well…as fine as can be expected."

"Did any of my advice actually help?" Percy asked.

She relayed the question to Magnus, who said, "Absolutely. Tell him I kept my butt clenched the entire trip, just like he said."

Annabeth actually managed a choked laugh. "I'll tell him."

After they hung up, instead of sitting back down on the couch beside Percy, Annabeth dropped onto his lap. Which was something she did very, very rarely. As in, almost never. But right now, she needed the comfort, and it was much easier to hug him this way. Which she did. Percy seemed startled for a moment, then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "What did Magnus say?"

Annabeth laughed again, even as she could feel the tears starting back up. "He said to tell you he kept his butt clenched the entire trip."

Percy actually chuckled. "At least he remembered the important part. Glad he made it through." He dropped a kiss into the hollow of her collarbone.

"Me too."

They stayed like that, just holding each other in the dim room, for a long time. Finally, though, unable to sit still any longer, Annabeth asked, "Want to go for a walk?"

When Percy nodded, she stood up, then held out a hand to help pull him to his feet. He took it with a small smile. But when she started to walk towards the door, he pulled her back. When she turned to him questioningly, he moved closer, took her face in his hands, and kissed her softly. "Love you. Couldn't remember if I'd said that today, and with everything that's happened, just…yeah."

The vise that had gripped Annabeth's heart clattered to the ground. The ache was still there, but it would heal, in time. She smiled and kissed him again. "You did, but it's always nice to hear. I love you, too, Percy. And we'll get through this, okay?"

"Yeah. I know." He took her hand again and followed her through the door.

Outside, the air was damp and cool. It had rained earlier, but now the clouds were thinning, sunlight breaking through. Annabeth drew in a deep breath. From her dad's house, she could just see a sliver of the bay in the distance, golden sunset light glinting off the gray water. Percy laced their fingers together and Annabeth gave him a small smile as they started walking uphill, toward a small park that overlooked the bay. From that point, it wasn't possible to see the Berkeley Hills that sheltered Camp Jupiter and New Rome. But they were still there. In spite of everything.

Months ago, when she'd fought the god Serapis on a deserted beach in Rockaway, Annabeth had told herself that she made her own future. That was still true. She gripped Percy's hand more tightly. Maybe the future wouldn't look exactly like they'd planned. But it could still be good. She believed that. She believed in them. And for now they could grieve and be angry and hurt. But then, once the pain subsided a bit, they would figure out a way forward. No matter what the universe decided to throw at them, they could handle it the same way they always had. Together.


End file.
